| Identity Theft ran rampant in the year of 2006. | | | | cards so that if your wallet or purse is lost or |
| We saw a record number of exposures of | | | | stolen, you have the 800 numbers and card |
| personal data, rounding out the top of the list with | | | | number to report it stolen. If you are traveling in |
| The Department of Veterans Affairs exposing | | | | a foreign country, carry your identification in a |
| more then 28 million records. Also in 2006, a | | | | secured bag that is attached to your body to |
| milestone of 100 million victims had been exposed | | | | prevent purse snatching or pick-pocketing. |
| to some type of data breach. | | | | Keep your computer up to date with antivirus |
| Were you one of those 100 million people? That | | | | software and critical patches and updates from |
| amount of exposure tells us that our personal | | | | the Operating Systems vendor. Have some type |
| information is accessible in a various number of | | | | of spyware/adware scanner installed as well. |
| ways. There were exposures all through out the | | | | Perform regular scans on your computer, with |
| United States. No one knows the true amount of | | | | the most recent definitions provided by the |
| exposures since not all the states have a | | | | software maker. Have some type of firewall, |
| disclosure law like California. | | | | whether its hardware or software, to prevent |
| Here are some tips on preventing your personal | | | | intrusions into your personal information. Also for |
| information from being obtained, ways that you | | | | additional security, make use of a username and |
| have control over the access to your data. | | | | difficult password on your computer to prevent |
| Concerning mail, when throwing away mail that | | | | unauthorized access. Do not open any emails with |
| contains any personal information, you may want | | | | attachments from someone you dont know, and |
| to invest in a cross-shredder, so that the | | | | always be careful opening emails with |
| documents are unreadable. Look into getting a | | | | attachments from someone you do know. It may |
| locking mailbox. Notify the Postmaster if you | | | | be a good idea to verify that they did send the |
| notice any mail missing, such as bills or bank | | | | email to you, as they may have gotten infected |
| statements that you are expecting. | | | | and not known about it. Banking institutions will not |
| Opt-out of unsolicited phone calls or mail by | | | | ask you for your personal information through an |
| visiting There you can opt-out and add you | | | | email, and in fact, most if not all major businesses |
| information to not receive mail, phone and email | | | | will not ask you for personal information through |
| solicitations. | | | | email. |
| Make a copy of all your credit cards and ATM | | | | |